Chinuch – Page 2 – Peninim on the Torah

קח נא את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק

Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak. (22:2)

Much has been written concerning Akeidas Yitzchak, the Binding of Yitzchak. It was Avraham Avinu’s final test, yet it is called Akeidas Yitzchak. Undoubtedly, Avraham Avinu telling his son that he had to relinquish his life for Hashem was an extremely demanding and challenging request. Yitzchak’s submission to his father’s request represents what I would call turbulent submission. This is especially true, considering that it was a father talking to a son, unlike concerning Avraham, when it was Hashem talking to a father. Can we imagine the heart-wrenching conflict that Avraham, the Amud HaChesed, Pillar of Kindness and compassion, experienced…

Home -> 5785 -> Va'eschanan

ואהבת את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5785

You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. (6:5)

The Sifri (Parsha 32) comments, Ahaveihu al ha’brios k’Avraham… “Make Him beloved by people as Avraham Avinu did.” Our Patriarch was not satisfied merely with his relationship with Hashem. He wanted everyone in the world to have such a relationship with the Almighty. He taught the world about its Creator because he wanted them to love Hashem and observe His precepts. This idea of reaching out to others, bringing them closer to Hashem is echoed by Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos 3 and Sefer HaChinuch 418). A Jew who loves Hashem cannot remain at ease while others are distant from Him. His…

Home -> Devarim -> 5785

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Devarim

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

Moshe Rabbeinu opens Sefer Devarim with words of rebuke. For forty years, he had been their leader, but it was now, shortly before he was to leave this world, that he chose rebuke as his parting words. We derive from here that rebuke should be well-thought out and delivered at a time when the rebuker feels it will be accepted. We do not reproach out of anger, but out of love and caring. We neither waste words, nor do we mince words. We say what must be said, even if being brutally honest may have backlash. Moshe chose his last…

Home -> 5785 -> Chukas

ויראו כל העדה כי גווע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Chukas, 5785

When the entire assembly saw that Aharon had perished, they wept for Aharon thirty days, the entire Bais Yisrael. (20:29)

Aharon HaKohen was niftar, and all of Klal Yisrael mourned his passing. Rashi underscores the fact that all of Klal Yisrael mourned, because he touched the lives of all Jews. As the paragon of peaceful coexistence, as the ohaiv shalom v’rodef shalom, one who loved peace and pursued peace, he made it his goal to encourage people to get along. At the slightest whiff of discord between friends, between husband and wife, Aharon was present to patch things up and convince the two parties to move one with life and live together in peace. Thus, when he died, everyone sorely…

Home -> 5785 -> Emor

אמר אל הכהנים בני אהרן ואמרת אליהם

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5785

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and tell them. (21:1)

them. (21:1) Chazal (Yevamos 114a) explain the apparent redundancy of Emor v’Amarta – “Say and tell,” to convey the important message of, l’hazhir gedolim al ha’ketanim, the adult Kohanim are cautioned regarding the children. A Kohen is not permitted to come in contact with the deceased; neither is he permitted to cause his children to become contaminated. Simply, the Torah is teaching us a primary lesson in chinuch, Torah education: children learn by example. “Do as I say – not as I do” is not effective. Inevitably, children mimic what they see. Thus, if a father wants to impart positive…

Home -> Pekudei -> 5785

עשה את כל אשר צוה ד' את משה

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Pekudei

Did everything as Hashem commanded Moshe. (38:22)

A king commissioned a master craftsman to build a summer mansion. The king gave him the approved architectural drawings and instructed him to build the mansion in accordance with the drawings. The craftsman was a brilliant builder who had ideas of his own which he incorporated into the edifice. When it was completed, he felt that the mansion was far more beautiful than what he would have constructed based upon the architect’s drawings. He was beyond proud of himself. It, therefore, came as a surprise when the king frowned upon seeing and entering the mansion. “What did you do?” asked…

Home -> 5785 -> Bo

ויהי חשך אפלה בכל ארץ מצרים ... לא ראו איש את אחיו ולא קמו איש מתחתיו

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5785

And there was a darkness of gloom throughout the land of Egypt…No man could see his brother nor could anyone rise from his place. (10:22,23)

In his sefer, Yalkut Chinuch L’Doros, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Dessler, Shlita, quotes a story from Horav Yisrael Meir Lau, Shlita, which is well-worth repeating. Fifty years ago, a place in the center of Tel Aviv’s downtown was where the wagon drivers would line up and wait for passengers who either wanted to travel or to ship their packages. One of these drivers was an observant Jew, by the name of Yoska, who would first participate in the vasikin, sunrise, minyan, and then he was off to work. As time passed, Yoska’s aged horse left this world. Lacking the funds to…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5784

כי דור תהפוכות המה בנים לא אמון בם

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Ha'azinu

For they are a generation of reversals, children whose upbringing is not in them. (32:20)

Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, zl, adds a practical, sadly common, insight concerning the dor tahapuchos, generation of reversals, when everything is topsy turvy. Veritably, the way of the world should be that a father teaches/sees to his son’s Torah-learning development and focuses on his spiritual growth. Conversely, the son is responsible for the support of his father. As a parent ages, daily work becomes a greater challenge. It is up to the son to arrange for his father’s sustenance and wellbeing. Today, however, it is the other way around. Fathers no longer involve themselves or care about the son’s Jewish…

Home -> 5784 -> Ki Seitzei

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקול אביו ואימו

Sruly Schnair In Ki Seitzei, 5784

If a man has a wayward and rebellious son, who does not obey his father or his mother. (21:18)

In the list of potential familial tragedies, the ben sorer u’moreh, wayward and rebellious son, is certainly in the upper stratum. This is clearly a tragedy, given that parents do so much and give all of themselves to raise their children along the proper and straight course. It happens, however, for various reasons or just because Hashem wills it. In other words, parents can do everything right, follow all the guidebooks and sefarim on chinuch, even daven and recite Tehillim, and Hashem can still decree upon them to have a ben sorer u’moreh. I would like to address the circumvention…

Home -> Devarim -> 5784

ואקח את ראשי שבטיכם

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Devarim

So I took the heads of your tribes. (1:15)

Rashi explains how Moshe Rabbeinu “took” the heads of the tribes: “I persuaded them verbally; I said, ‘Fortunate are you! Over whom do you come to be appointed?’ Over the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Over people who are called ‘brothers’ and ‘friends’ of Hashem, a ‘portion’ and an ‘inheritance’ of Hashem and all other expressions of endearment.” Moshe convinced the heads of the tribes that they were about to become leaders of a select group of people – ones whom Hashem esteemed. Likewise, Moshe implied to the people that they were special. A remarkable lesson in chinuch, education,…

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קח נא את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק

Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak. (22:2)

ואהבת את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך

You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. (6:5)

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

ויראו כל העדה כי גווע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל

When the entire assembly saw that Aharon had perished, they wept for Aharon thirty days, the entire Bais Yisrael. (20:29)

אמר אל הכהנים בני אהרן ואמרת אליהם

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and tell them. (21:1)

עשה את כל אשר צוה ד' את משה

Did everything as Hashem commanded Moshe. (38:22)

ויהי חשך אפלה בכל ארץ מצרים ... לא ראו איש את אחיו ולא קמו איש מתחתיו

And there was a darkness of gloom throughout the land of Egypt…No man could see his brother nor could anyone rise from his place. (10:22,23)

כי דור תהפוכות המה בנים לא אמון בם

For they are a generation of reversals, children whose upbringing is not in them. (32:20)

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקול אביו ואימו

If a man has a wayward and rebellious son, who does not obey his father or his mother. (21:18)

ואקח את ראשי שבטיכם

So I took the heads of your tribes. (1:15)

YEARS

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